Terence Crawford Vacates WBO Welterweight Title; Brian Norman Jr. He has been promoted to the Full Degree List

And there was one.

The belt, that is.

A ring has confirmed that Terence 'Bud' Crawford has officially vacated the WBO welterweight title. The move came as the four-division RING fighter was pressed to decide which weight class he would stay in. Crawford (41-0, 31 knockouts) recently dethroned Israel Madrimov for the WBA 154-pound title on Aug. 3 in Los Angeles. A fight for the interim WBO junior middleweight title.

It is clear that he will stay at 154 or so and that his days at welterweight are coming to an end.

“WBO President Paco Valcarcel has received official communication with… Crawford confirming his decision that he will no longer be able to stay in the welterweight division,” the chairman of the WBO Championship Committee Luis Batista-Salas confirmed in the decision received by Mr. A ring. “Brian Norman, Jr., has been promoted from “Interim Champion” to “Full Champion” in the WBO Welterweight Division by virtue of the title.

Norman (26-0, 20 KOs) received the promotion less than three months after claiming the interim title. The 23-year-old from Conyers, Georgia stopped Giovani Santillan in the 10th round of their May 18 fight for the undefeated welterweights.

A decision has not yet been made as to whether Norman will be responsible for the mandatory title defense at the time. He should have gotten the overall title, but had to wait for Crawford-Madrimov.

The WBO gave Crawford, The Ring's No. 3 pound-for-pound, to step up and challenge Madrimov (10-1-1, 7 KOs) at heavyweight. The condition was that he would have to face Norman in a title unification fight if he returned to 147.

Crawford followed the same path he took with the WBC and IBF. He became the undisputed champion after a ninth round stoppage of Errol Spence Jr. (28-0, 22 KOs) last July 29 in Las Vegas. Their long-awaited fight saw Crawford win the WBC, WBA and IBF titles and retain the WBO belt. He was too A ring champion in the third weight division by feat.

The five-year wait at that point has produced a slow move from welterweight.

Crawford was stripped of his IBF title for disrespecting Jaron 'Boots' Ennis (32-0, 29 KOs) last season. The decision came when Crawford told the judging panel that he was contractually bound to the Spence match.

That fight never happened, neither did Spence since returning to the ring or Crawford in the welterweight division. Ennis has been promoted to full title holder and recently defeated David Avanesyan (30-5-1, 18 KOs) to defend the belt.

The WBC belt is the one that will go. Mario Barrios (29-2, 18 KOs) won the provisional version in a twelve-round decision over Yordenis Ugas last September 30 in Las Vegas. The San Antonio native defended his second belt by defeating Fabian Maidana on May 4, in Vegas. Both events took place on the undercard of Pay-Per-View events headlined by Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez.

Barrios was given the opportunity to step up to full WBC title on June 19, three weeks after Crawford officially vacated the belt.

Crawford still holds the WBA welterweight title, although the sanctioning body (generally) prohibits boxers from holding titles in two or more divisions. Rarely was it done, as happened when Floyd Mayweather, the all-time champion, was allowed to fight at welterweight and junior middleweight.

Eimantas Stanionis (15-0, 9 KOs) holds the WBA 'Regular' welterweight title, which he defended with a 4-point victory over Gabriel Maestre. The fight was on the same schedule as Alvarez-Jaime Munguia where Barrios saw Maidana. There is speculation of a Stanionis-Barrios unification fight in the works. Such a fight would require the Stanionis to get a full upgrade as well.

Crawford's relinquishment of the WBO welterweight title ends a reign that lasted more than six years. He won the belt in a ninth round stoppage in June 2018 of undefeated Jeff Horn. It came ten months after he joined the junior welterweight division full time. Seven successful defenses followed—all inside distance as part of an eleven-fight knockout. His early night ended with a points victory over Madrimov, the first time since July 2016 that Crawford was forced to score.

A decision has yet to be made on Crawford's next fight. There is heavy speculation that he will next face Vergil Ortiz (22-0, 21 KOs), who knocked out WBC interim champion Serhii Bohachuk (23-2, 22 KOs) over the weekend. Their brutal twelve-round affair is the headliner for the 2024 Fight of the Year.

The side of the game was Turki Alalshikh, whose Riyadh Season team introduced Crawford-Madrimov to her US debut. The outgoing figure spoke volumes about his plans for the Crawford-Ortiz next round, even before Saturday's fight started.

Crawford was crowned RING welterweight champion following his victory over Madrimov. The staff's decision was made on the basis that Crawford was clear on his intentions to fight at 154 or more weight moving forward.

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